These Easy Homemade Pumpkin Peanut Butter Dog Treats are sure to be a hit with your pup, and are so easy to make! Filled with natural, healthy ingredients, it's a great recipe to make when you want to completely spoil your dog.
2020 was quite a year for everyone. For us, it started with learning at the beginning of the year that my Dad was sick with a cancerous brain tumor. Then, COVID hit, making everything even harder (if that’s possible). In May, my father passed away. And in June, my last surviving grandmother passed away too, just three short weeks after my Dad. To say it was rough is an understatement.
That’s right around the time my husband suggested we get a puppy. We had talked about it before (our boys have BEGGED for one for years!) but I was always nervous to pull the trigger. But, we needed a little bit of a break in our routine, and we finally decided that SOMETHING good had to come out of this year. So in November of 2020, we brought home our first little puppy, Maya.
In just a few short hours she had captured all of our hearts and over this past year, she has worked her way into the fabric of our lives. This past September we celebrated her first birthday, and of course, we couldn’t help but spoil her. These peanut butter and pumpkin dog treats were at the top of the list of her favorite foods and I’m so excited to share them with you here!
Why You (& Your Pup!) Will Love These Easy Treats
- Easy. These are the easiest homemade dog treats to make. They took under an hour to make them and are super simple to cut out.
- Simple ingredients. You only need 5 natural ingredients, and nothing really fancy. The peanut butter and pumpkin add tons of flavor so feel free to omit the cinnamon if you're worried your dog won't like it.
- These dog biscuits are healthy! These treats use oat flour which is a top choice for pets. Oat flour contains more protein per calorie than any other grain and is full of antioxidants. It's also a great alternative if your pup has a wheat allergy. As an added bonus, the peanut butter and pumpkin add tons of nutrition too. Just be sure that the peanut butter you choose doesn't have a bunch of added sugar or sweeteners (especially Xylitol which is toxic to dogs.)
- They have a great texture. These peanut butter pumpkin oatmeal dog treats are crispy on the outside, but chewy on the inside making for a satisfying bite each time.
- Customizable. This is an easy recipe to experiment with. Try different add-ins depending on what your pup likes best.
- They taste great! My pup loves these easy dog biscuits!
- Great for gifting! This peanut butter pumpkin dog treats recipe makes 50 cookies! It's a great
Ingredients
You need just 5 healthy ingredients for these treats:
- Pumpkin. Be sure to use pure pumpkin puree here, not pumpkin pie mix or pumpkin pie filling, which have added sugars and spices.
- Creamy Peanut Butter. Peanut butter provides some great healthy fats in these treats! Use a peanut butter that doesn't use an artificial sweetener, especially Xylitol, which is bad for dogs. Try to find peanut butter with just two ingredients: peanuts and salt.
- Flour. I used oat flour, which makes for a super healthy treat. While you can experiment with other types of flour, try to stay away from all purpose flour, if you can. While it won't hurt your dog in small batches, it's not as nutritious as some of the other types of flour you could use. If you'd like to use oat flour, but can't find it, you can make your own ground oats! Oat flour is extremely easy to make. Just add rolled oats to a high-speed blender and blend on high, until the consistency turns to a fine powder. (Don't over-blend!)
- Eggs. The eggs help bind these treats together.
- Cinnamon. Just a dash gives these treats some added flavor, but feel free to omit it if you don't think your pup will like it.
How To Make These Easy Homemade Pumpkin Peanut Butter Dog Treats
These 5 ingredient peanut butter pumpkin dog treats are easy peasy to make.
- Mix the wet ingredients. Start by mixing your wet ingredients - pumpkin puree, peanut butter, and eggs - together in a large bowl.
- Mix the dry ingredients. Next, mix your dry ingredients - oat flour and ground cinnamon - in a separate bowl.
- Combine. Add the dry ingredients to the wet peanut butter and pumpkin mix, and stir to combine.
- Roll out the cookies. On a lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll out the dough to a ½ inch thickness.
- Cut the cookies with a small cookie cutter and place them on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. (Use your favorite cookie cutters, or shop fo ones specific to dogs! They make adorable bone or paw-shaped cookie cutters that are easy to find on Amazon or at Michaels.)
- Bake the cookies for about 30 minutes, or until they're a nice golden brown color. (Increase the baking time to 40 if you want them to be on the crispier/crunchier side), remove them from the oven, and allow them to cool for about 5-10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool to room temperature.
- Serve! Serve this pure wholesome goodness to your pup!
Variations And Substitutions
Here are a few ways to mix this simple dog treat recipe up:
- Use a different flour. While I love oat flour for this recipe, assuming your dog doesn't have a wheat allergy you could also use whole wheat flour. Brown rice flour is another option that works, especially if your fur baby has digestive issues, as it's gluten free and is generally easy on the digestive system.
- Use a banana. If your dog is allergic to eggs, omit them and use a mashed banana instead.
- Sub out the pumpkin.
- These peanut butter dog treats use pumpkin as the base but you could sub that out for banana or sweet potatoes if your pet prefers it. Feel free to also add small pieces of meat (bacon would be great!) to mix it up.
- Use a silicone mold. While you certainly don't have to use one, you can find adorable shapes to use for these treats (there are also tons of cute cookie cutters out there!)
Frequently Asked Questions
You should use a creamy, peanut butter that doesn't have any artificial sweeteners. Ensure that whatever peanut butter you use does NOT contain Xylitol. Xylitol is a sweetener that is highly toxic to dogs.
These are not like your store-bought treats that can be stored forever on the shelf. These peanut butter pumpkin cookies will keep for about a week in an airtight container, preferably in the refrigerator.
Yep! If you don’t think you’ll get through them all within a week, I’d definitely recommend freezing them. They should be good for about 3 months in the freezer. I often make a double batch of these dog biscuits just to have some to put in the freezer.
No! Skip the cookie cutters to make the process easier. I used cookie cutters for these since they look so cute. But if you want to make these homemade dog treats often and keep it easy, here’s a tip. Roll the dough into a log shape, and place it in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. Then, just slice the log into ½-inch thick circles. Easy!
Start with giving your dog one small treat (or a small bite of a treat if you made them a bit larger) to see how they react. If they don't have any adverse reactions, feed them as often as you would give your dog any other treats...you know your dog best!
I hope you and your doggy friend enjoy these healthy treats! They’re so much fun to make and such a great way to spoil our four-legged furry friends!
If you do make these Easy Homemade Peanut Butter & Pumpkin Dog Treats, be sure to tag me at @frontrangefed on Instagram. I love to see your creations!
Recipe
Easy Homemade Peanut Butter & Pumpkin Dog Treats
Ingredients
- 3 cups oat flour
- ⅔ cup canned pumpkin puree
- 4 tblsp creamy peanut butter
- 2 large eggs
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet or cookie sheet with a slipmat or parchment paper.
- Combine the pumpkin puree, peanut butter, and eggs in a medium-large bowl and mix until combined. In a smaller bowl, combine the oat flour and ground cinnamon and stir to combine.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the peanut butter/pumpkin mixture and stir until the dough is thick and dry. If the dough is too sticky, add a bit more oat flour until it easily comes together and is easy to manage.
- On a floured surface, roll out the dough to a ½ inch thickness and use cookie cutters to cut out the treats.
- Bake treats for around 30-40 minutes (depending on how crisp your dog likes them!), then remove them from the oven and allow them to cool for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a baking rack to cool completely.
- These treats are best stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for about a week, or for about 3 months in the freezer.
Notes
- Store these dog treats for 1 week, or freeze for 3 months. These cookies will keep for about a week in an airtight container, preferably in the refrigerator. If you don’t think you’ll get through them all in that time, I’d definitely recommend freezing them. They should be good for about 3 months in the freezer.
- Roll and slice your cookies to make the process easier. Instead of rolling out the dough and using cookie cutters to cut the individual cookies, roll the dough into a log shape, and place it in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. Then, just slice the log into ½-inch thick circles. Easy!
- Mix it up! These dog treats use pumpkin as the base but you could sub that out for banana or sweet potatoes if your dog prefers it. Feel free to also add small pieces of meat (bacon would be great!) to mix it up and make it an extra special treat.
- Make your own oat flour! Add rolled oats to a high-speed blender and blend on high, until the consistency turns to a powdery flour. (Don't over-blend!)
Nutrition
Fran says
I'll make these just to get that reaction from my pup! So cute!
Sarah Jenkins says
Haha - it's the best!!!
Dolores says
Thank You,You mention not to use natural peanut butter because of the oils, what kind would you suggest as some types use ingredients that are not good for dogs, also you have flour as an ingredient, I use wheat flour as I have also read that white flour is not easily digestible for pets.Just wonderingThanks